And Now These Three Remain
by perfectvelvet
Summary: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."  Erica's abduction by a Visitor forces Jack to confront his feelings for her.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This idea came to me sometime between 2x03 and 2x04, so it's set loosely during season two. Just my little contribution to the Jack/Erica shipdom. I don't own the characters and no infringement is intended.

_And Now These Three Remain  
by perfectvelvet_

_Chapter One: Faith  
_

The grunting and muted blows weren't exactly unusual, yet Hobbes didn't expect to hear them in the middle of the night. Coffee in hand, he headed down the stairs to Fifth Column's basement headquarters to find Jack Landry unleashing hell on a heavy bag.

Normally, captured Vs hung from the hook where the heavy bag had been suspended. Perhaps Jack was envisioning a Visitor in its place. His blue tank was soaked through, sweat coating his body. His hands were bare instead of wrapped or gloved.

Hobbes stopped at the foot of the stairs and frowned at him. "Did you even go home last night?" No answer. When he had left shortly after midnight, Jack was still here, staring absently at the floor. He wasn't responsive then either, but none of them had really felt like talking.

Seven hours and eleven minutes.

Erica had been missing for seven hours and eleven minutes.

Her last correspondence had been a hushed phone call to Hobbes. The V she had been tracking had entered an abandoned warehouse, and she needed backup. She had barely finished relaying the address when she cried out. Over the line, Hobbes heard a gunshot, followed by the most awful high-pitched screech. A half-scream, a crack, and then ... silence.

When Hobbes reached the warehouse, Jack and Ryan in tow, no one was there. They found her cell phone next to a large pool of blood and a clump of blond hair. Erica's hair. Back at headquarters, Sidney tested the blood. Erica's blood.

But no Erica. And no V.

Jack had contacted Tyler, a conversation which started with "Why do you have my mom's phone?" and ended with "This is your fault. If she'd never met you, she'd be fine right now!" Tyler's words had cut deep; it was evident on Jack's face, in his hunched shoulders. Hobbes thought it was pointless for Jack to take the blame or even feel remotely responsible, but then again he'd never been particularly emotional. In his line of work, emotions were too easily manipulated in order to gain control.

As he watched Jack now, it was clear that he had moved on from that guilt to anger. His punches were quick and strong, his feet shifting side to side in front of the bag. Good. They needed him focused if he was going to be any use to them. Distracted, he was a liability that they couldn't afford.

Hobbes sat down at the computer and checked for messages. Nothing. Despite their best efforts, they had yet to locate Erica. From an understandably distraught Tyler, Lisa had learned of her disappearance and pledged to do whatever she could to locate the V who had taken her. Ryan and Sidney were back at the scene, looking for any additional clues as to where she might have been taken. Hobbes had offered to remain at headquarters and wait for word from Lisa while following up on his own leads. Jack had said he was going to St. Josephine's, but obviously he hadn't been there long.

Hobbes leaned back in the chair, fingers threaded behind his head. "It's not your fault, you know." Still no response. He expected as much. "Look, Tyler's scared. He thinks you're a threat because he doesn't know the truth. When we find her, she'll set him straight."

"_If_ we find her," Jack corrected harshly.

"_When_ we find her," Hobbes repeated, walking over to him. "Her body was gone. She could be alive."

"That much blood? Without medical treatment, you don't survive."

"What do you want me to say, Jack? That Erica is dead? Well, I don't believe it - and neither should you. What happened to faith?"

Jack pivoted toward him, fists still raised in a boxing stance. Hobbes didn't flinch. Exhaustion and worry and anger - strong, ugly anger - lined the priest's face, and a deep sadness clouded his blue eyes, turning them almost grey. Hobbes had never seen him like this. "Faith," Jack repeated slowly, mockingly. "Faith that the Visitor is compassionate? That he has mercy on a human's life?"

"No. Faith that your God will protect her. That's what you Catholics preach, isn't it?"

He had the impression that Jack wanted to say something else to him, blurt out some kind of confession or maybe an expletive, but instead he merely turned his attention toward the heavy bag and continued punching.

"Listen. No matter what happens, whether Erica is alive or not ... the Fifth Column will survive."

Jack shook his head.

"It'll be okay."

"No." Jack's voice echoed in the room, and his punches became sharper, angrier. "It won't be okay. It will never-" _Thump!_ "-be-" _Bang!_ "-okay!" The heavy bag fell from its tether and landed on the floor with an unimpressive flop, teetering helplessly before becoming still. Jack let out a gasping sob and jammed his palms against his eyes.

The silence spoke volumes. Hobbes was not stupid, nor was he oblivious to his surroundings. Jack and Erica had a strong bond, forged at the moment they met. He didn't pretend to understand it: trust should be earned, not given after the first hello, and even then it was on shaky ground. Losing her had been hard on all of them. Her job with the FBI generally kept them one step ahead, sometimes leading them to another Fifth Column cell, and she was important to the anti-V movement.

To Hobbes, she was an acquaintance, an informant. If necessary, he would end their relationship with a bullet - albeit reluctantly, since she'd done him more than one favor. But to Jack, she was more than a business partner, more than a source of information. She was a friend. Just a friend?

He noticed the blood on Jack's raw knuckles, some dried and some fresh, and retrieved a towel from the nearby supply locker. Taking a tray of ice from the mini fridge, he dumped a few cubes into the towel, twisted it shut, and handed it to Jack. "For your hands."

Jack took the towel and pressed it against his left hand, wincing slightly. "Thanks," he muttered.

"She doesn't know, does she?" No answer, and although he knew it wasn't for lack of understanding, he clarified, "You never told her you're in love with her. Now you're afraid you'll never have the chance."

Jack turned away from him but not before Hobbes caught the stark honesty in his expression.

Hobbes had expected this development. Their anti-V activities put them in constant danger, and danger was a breeding ground for infatuation, sex, love: the desire for companionship from someone who understood you, the misplaced feeling of safety in the arms of another, never knowing if you'd live to see tomorrow. He'd taken lovers during his days in the SAS. Besides, Erica was smart, attractive, fierce, and the only female in their group, aside from the lizard princess Lisa, and she was off-limits for all kinds of reasons. So Hobbes wasn't really surprised with one of them developing some kind of feelings for Erica. He just hadn't expected it to be the priest. That was a love story destined for Maury or Springer.

A soft chirp interrupted the silence. Lisa's communique.

He slid into the chair, entered the password, and opened the encrypted file. Instead of a long dossier of the V suspect and where to find him, as he had expected, it contained only a few words: powerful words, uplifting words.

_I am bringing her home._

*End chapter one - feedback always welcomed!_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback - it made me smile!

_And Now These Three Remain_  
_by perfectvelvet_

_Chapter Two: Hope_

The ride to Erica's house was taking entirely too long, despite Hobbes's incomplete stops and excessive speed. Jack drummed his fingers on the arm rest impatiently.

_She was alive._

Thankfully, Hobbes hadn't brought up anything from their conversation earlier. Conversation? It was more of a one-sided revelation into Jack's feelings; Jack hadn't trusted himself to speak, knowing that even if he had lied, his voice would have revealed the truth.

He had always been a master of self-control. The vows he took to serve God required restraint and discipline, but he knew the clergy was his calling. He had never questioned it or doubted it, and he had never wondered what kind of life he would have had if he had not entered the seminary. Chapter 3 of Proverbs states, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and don't lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge him, and he shall direct your way." And he did. It brought him peace. But then the Visitors arrived, and he felt confused, uncertain. Prayers for guidance had curiously led him to the Fifth Column, to Erica.

As much as he had tried to deny his feelings, they were growing stronger every day. He had prayed about it and gone to confession, hoping for a return to that inner peace he had felt before they met. He had even preached a sermon about lust, but it lacked conviction because he knew it wasn't lust that he felt. His desire to be close to her had nothing to do with sex.

Then she had been abducted - and he had lost control. Control, his most precious virtue, gone in an instant and so easily, before he'd even had a chance to stop it. He had been so certain that she was dead: the blood in the warehouse, the things Hobbes had heard over the phone before their call had been disconnected, the fact that it was a Visitor who had done it. And his heart filled with rage and unbearable sadness, a terrifying mixture for someone who trusted God's will.

He didn't know what to expect when he finally saw her. Lisa hadn't given them any information on her condition when Hobbes had spoken to her, saying only that she would try to get Tyler out of the house long enough for them to visit. Was Erica hurt? Bleeding? Broken? Dying? Oh, he hoped she hadn't been permanently injured. If the Visitor had so much as broken a finger, there would be hell to pay, and any self-control that Jack had left would be gone forever.

He sighed heavily, tired of imagining the worst but unable to stop, and Hobbes looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "We're almost there, Padre." But that was it. No snide comments, no sarcastic remarks. For that, Jack was thankful.

When Hobbes pulled the car along the curb, Jack jumped out before it was even in park. They both jogged to the front door, tossing glances over their shoulders to see if they were being watched or had been followed.

Never one for impeccable manners, Hobbes opened the door and walked inside. Erica spun around at the sound, flanked by Ryan and Lisa.

"We don't have much time," Ryan said. "Tyler's on his way back."

Jack wasn't even listening to him. The mothership could land on the front lawn, and he wouldn't care. All that mattered was her. "Erica." He broke out into a grin that he didn't even try to conceal.

"Jack." They closed the distance between them and embraced tightly. Over her shoulder, he watched Hobbes push both Lisa and Ryan into the kitchen, out of sight.

He remained silent for a long time, committing this moment to memory. The feel of her body against his, the smell of her skin, the rhythm of her breath. In case it never happened again, in case she was one day gone forever, he wanted to remember everything about her. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I thought you were - that you had..."

She pulled back and for a fleeting moment held his face in her hands. "I'm here, I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"Anna has requested that all suspected Fifth Column members be brought to the mothership alive for ... questioning." Questioning meant torture, and he blanched at the thought of harm coming to her. She noticed his expression and shook her head. "No. My role in the resistance is intact."

"What about all the blood we found at the warehouse? The sounds Hobbes heard over the phone?" A quick once-over revealed no signs of any bruising, not even a bandage. He swallowed hard to quell the tremor in his voice. "Did he hurt you?"

"He smashed my face into the cement floor, broke just about every bone there."

That shocked him. She seemed physically fine, no different from any other day - and certainly not like a woman who had suffered from that kind of violence. But the casual tone of her voice haunted him. She wasn't fine, and they both knew it. "Oh, Erica..."

"Actually, I have you to thank for my life. If you hadn't contacted Tyler, it could have been much worse. After he spoke to you, he told Lisa what had happened, and she took him to see Anna." Erica's lips curled into a small, sad smile. "Of course, any harm done to me by a Visitor would definitely push Tyler away, and she couldn't have that. So she demanded that I be brought to the ship immediately. And while I was being patched up in the medical bay, the Visitor was being skinned."

He pulled her close again. He couldn't stop himself from visualizing what had happened to her, what could have happened to her. Anger ignited his blood like fire, and he had to remind himself that she was alive and safe; that was more than he could have hoped for.

"Jack ... Tyler told Anna that I'd been following a member of Fifth Column to the warehouse and was taken by mistake. And by Fifth Column, he meant you." Her eyes pleaded with him. "They're watching you very closely. You need to be careful. If Anna gets desperate for information, she _will_ torture you. She will probably kill you." She took a breath. "We can't lose you. I... _I_ can't lose you."

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He wanted to tell her the truth, to convey the depth of his feelings with something beautiful and poetic; she deserved nothing less. He parted his lips to speak, but no words would come, and his heart ached in the silence.

The front door opened again, and Tyler walked into the house with a large bag of Chinese takeout. Jack watched his expression shift from happiness to confusion to anger. And why not? His mother was in the arms of the man who he deemed responsible for her attack.

Jack didn't expect what happened next. Tossing the food to the floor, Tyler lunged at him like a linebacker, and they went careening into the wall. He was stunned by the strength behind the blow, and he barely had time to block the first punch with his forearm. He braced himself for the second one, but it never came.

"Tyler, that's enough!" Erica shouted, twisting her son's arm behind him and holding him back. "What are you doing?"

"What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing? He's Fifth Column!"

"Ty-"

"He almost got you killed!" He wiggled out of her loosening grasp and backed away from her, panting. He focused his glare on Jack, but Erica stood between them to prevent another attack. Ryan and Hobbes appeared in the kitchen entryway; Hobbes had his gun drawn.

"Hobbes, put it away," Erica ordered.

"Who are they?" Tyler demanded, his attention shifting between his mother and the men in the doorway. "What's going on?"

Jack saw the pain on Erica's face, so raw that he swore he felt it too. He knew she didn't want him to find out this way, but she no longer had a choice.

"Mom!"

"We're all Fifth Column," she said at last, hands clasped at her heart.

Tyler squinted at the men in the kitchen, as well as Jack, then looked back at Erica. "But ... what are members of Fifth Column doing here?"

She hugged him, squeezing her eyes shut. "_All _of us, Tyler."

He remained in her arms for a moment then slowly looked up, realization finally setting in. Lisa slid in beside Hobbes, her lips pressed together. Tyler's voice cracked as he choked out her name.

"I'm so sorry," Lisa whispered.

That was his breaking point. He stood motionless except for his trembling jaw, staring at Lisa in anguish, clinging to his mother like a child.

"Come on, Ty," Erica said, guiding him to the kitchen. "We need to talk."

* End chapter two


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's chapter 3 - last one should be out tomorrow!

_And Now These Three Remain_  
_by perfectvelvet_

_Chapter 3: Love_

What a night.

Over the course of several hours, Tyler had received a no-holds-barred account of the past few months, from the moment the Visitors arrived to Erica's safe return from the mothership after her attack. Everyone had spoken, sharing their roles in the resistance movement, explaining how their lives had all become entwined. There had been anger, tears, regret, and apologies.

On the one hand, Tyler now understood that the Visitors were the enemies and had agreed to join the resistance movement. On the other, he was understandably upset about being duped for so long - by his mother, by his girlfriend, and by the Vs themselves. He felt like a fool, like he had been betrayed by everyone, and he did not hesitate to let anyone know it. That had been devastating for Erica to hear, but as much as he wanted to comfort her, Jack remained rooted in place, watching helplessly.

Hobbes and Ryan did a lot of the talking when Erica could not, and Tyler seemed to respect their accounts. They were logical and direct, and they lacked the emotion that Erica and Lisa conveyed. But he ignored Jack for most of the evening and never made eye contact.

He wasn't as concerned with what Tyler thought of him as he was with how Tyler treated Erica. He was angry and hurt, that much was obvious. But he was also indifferent to her apologies, and that bothered Jack the most. From what Erica had told him, Tyler didn't care about the truth, even when she had tried to warn him. Maybe he was the one who should be apologizing. Then again, if Jack had found out that everything he believed in, everything and everyone he trusted, was a lie, apologizing would be the last thing on his mind.

After a heart-to-heart conversation with Tyler, Erica appeared in the kitchen, exhaustion lining her face. When she saw Jack at the sink, she looked startled but managed a genuine smile. If the day's events weren't still fresh in his mind, he would have thought everything was okay. He could tell she was trying to hide the truth, even going so far as to put on a fresh application of makeup, but even the strongest person could break.

"I thought you would have left with the others."

"And leave you with a pile of dirty dishes? Nonsense." He rinsed the soap from the final dinner plate and placed it in the drying rack.

"Thank you for cleaning up - and for cooking. It was delicious."

While that may have been true about the chicken parmigiana and garlic bread that he had prepared hours ago, it had mostly been picked at instead of consumed. He had cooked to calm his nerves and to imitate some sort of normalcy, but it had been awkward nonetheless: two aliens, a priest, a mercenary, an FBI agent, and a teenage boy did not generally eat meals together. "You're welcome. The leftovers are in the refrigerator." He dried his hands on a nearby towel. "How's Tyler?"

"He's okay," she replied, sounding only partly convinced. "Lisa is going to spend the night. Can't believe I'm actually letting a girl sleep over but-" She shrugged. "He needs someone, and he's still a little cool toward me."

"He'll come around. He just needs some time to process everything."

"Yeah. I know how that is."

"Are you all right?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'll be fine."

"You've had a rough twenty-four hours. Are you sure?"

"Uh huh." But she refused to meet his gaze.

"You don't have to hide anything from me, Erica."

"I'm not," she said as a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You know me too well for me to be able to hide anything from you."

Jack reached out his hand and curled his fingers around hers. "Then let your guard down. Let me be your strength."

She nodded repeatedly, her mask beginning to crack. "I-" He brought her into his arms. Almost instantly, he felt her heavy sigh, heard a muffled sob against his neck. He stroked her hair, rocked her gently, even pressed a chaste kiss to her temple.

"You don't have to do this alone. I'm here for you, Erica. For anything, everything."

She went still, and for a moment he wondered if he had said the wrong thing. Then she looked into his eyes, her nose brushing against his, and he realized it wasn't the wrong thing that he'd said.

It was the right thing.

Jack released a shaky breath. He drew his thumb along her cheekbone before cupping her face in his hand; she nuzzled against his touch in response. His outward calm shocked even him, considering the avalanche of emotion rumbling through his body. There was no logic, no fear, no guilt. Just love.

"Will you stay with me tonight, Jack?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't want to be alone."

"Yes," came his husky reply.

She took his hand and gave him one last questioning look for confirmation, one last chance to change his mind. He didn't, wouldn't. At his nod, she led him silently up the stairs.

* End chapter three - feedback is love!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for all the great feedback. Enjoy the ending!

_And Now These Three Remain_  
_by perfectvelvet_

_Chapter Four: But the greatest of these is love._

The Evans residence was quiet this early in the morning, particularly after the prior day's revelations. A lot of things had changed, and with every change came new challenges and the knowledge that things could never go back to the way they were.

For one, that change would be difficult. Tyler now knew the truth about the Vs, which put him in some degree of danger if he couldn't keep up with the charade, but he was committed to fight. Lisa would be there to help, of course, but they had to be convincing. Anna was smart but often blinded by her believed omnipotence. A person with that much power was dangerous.

For another, change led to certainty, solidifying a decision that had been weighing on him for weeks. Jack shut the door to Erica's bedroom behind him and took a deep breath. He was thankful that everyone was still asleep. It gave him time to gather his thoughts and to find his way back to reality.

Last night felt like something out of a dream. If he hadn't experienced it, he wouldn't have believed it. But one thing was undeniably true: he was in love. Totally. Completely. It consumed his thoughts, filled his body with a cloudy haze, made him feel like he was as light as air. The giddy smile on his face felt like a permanent fixture, and he was sure that he'd worn it during his sleep because his cheeks were sore.

At the same time, love was a hindrance. He felt distracted, unable to focus on anything but her. He didn't want to be apart from her. For the first time in his life, he fully understood the importance of the vow of clerical celibacy. Many people knew a priest couldn't marry but didn't really understand why. They thought the vow of celibacy dealt with abstaining from sex, but it also meant abstaining from romantic love. How can one give himself fully to the Lord if he must also give himself to his mate?

Jack had never questioned it. He didn't always agree with it, but he had always followed it. Until now. Until Erica.

They had not had sex, although his desire for her had been unmistakable. No. They had simply kissed. For mere minutes or hours, he wasn't sure. Time seemed to stand still as his lips touched every inch of her face, from the tip of her nose to the slant of her jaw. There had been no whispered confessions, no declarations of love. They had not been necessary. She had fallen asleep in his arms, and he experienced the most peaceful sleep he'd had in ages.

He had sinned last night - but what a sweet, sweet sin it had been.

Which was why he was sneaking out of her house before anyone else was awake. He needed to get to St. Josephine's.

"Leaving already?"

Jack froze at the foot of the stairs. Tyler stood in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed, expression unreadable. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look particularly happy to see him either. "Yeah, I need to, uh..." His voice trailed off; he wasn't sure what Tyler knew, or thought he knew, and he didn't know what to say. They were allies now, and an unspoken truce had been granted. But now that it was apparent Jack had spent the night ... oh boy.

"Is Mom still asleep?"

He nodded dumbly.

"So you're just going to leave, not even say goodbye?"

"There are some things I need to do at the church."

"Like what? Confess?"

He paused, his expression softening. "Yes."

Tyler scoffed and shook his head. "So you used her?"

"No." The mere suggestion caught him off guard. Is that what he thought? That Erica meant nothing to him?

"She's just some woman you can sleep with, and then you get to confess and be saved."

"No-"

"Well, what about her?" His voice rose. "She hasn't been with anybody since my dad left. How do you think she's going to feel when she wakes up and you're gone?"

Jack tried to speak, but his lips moved helplessly. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Erica. While he was certain she would understand his early morning disappearance, maybe he was wrong. Maybe Tyler was right.

The teen was glaring at him, waiting for an answer.

"I was going to the church," he began, taking a breath before speaking the words that he never thought he'd say, "to submit my request for voluntary laicization."

Tyler frowned. "What's that?"

"It's a request to be removed from my position as a member of the clergy, to be returned to lay status."

"So ... you wouldn't be a priest anymore?"

The words felt like a punch in the gut. He may have come to terms with the decision, but that didn't make it any easier to hear. "No, I wouldn't be a priest anymore."

Despite the fact that Tyler wasn't Catholic, he seemed to understand the implications and the weight of this decision and what it meant to him. "But ... why?"

"I can't condone all of the things that the Church wants me to say."

"About the Vs?"

He nodded. "I've been considering this for a while. I even started writing out the request, but I had to be sure it was the right decision. I haven't even told anybody about it, except you." He took another breath. No one had heard this either. "And then your mother's abduction made me realize how ... strongly I feel for her. But given my position in the Church, I can't be with her. I'm not even supposed to be around her. I should avoid the temptation, but I can't. I don't want to."

He laughed, as if it was a joke, but the conflicted expression on Jack's face made him stop. "You're serious. So being around someone you like makes you unable to teach people about God?"

"It's complicated."

"No, it's just stupid." He quickly averted his gaze in an unspoken apology. "If you go through with it, this laicization ... could you be with her?"

"Yes," he admitted. "If she'll have me."

They looked at each other for a long time. Tyler's expression was no longer hateful or angry or even indifferent; it was almost sympathetic. "Look, I ... I'm sorry. I did some dumb things. All this time, I thought you were the enemy."

"I forgive you, Tyler. You were just looking out for your mother."

"And so were you. Thank you for that." He looked at his shoes.

The expression of gratitude was an olive branch which Jack was quick to accept. He squeezed Tyler's shoulder and smiled. Maybe they could be friends after all.

* The End - feedback is appreciated


End file.
